Out of the Frying Pan
by QuasiOuster
Summary: Sequel to my story Reboot. We're moving on to the events of Friendly Fire. Chaos will ensue, both for Eureka and for the relationships of the returned Astraeus crew. Zane and Jo escaped the Matrix but will things work out for them in the real world?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: I do not own Eureka or any of its characters. No infringement or profit is intended. **

**This is the first part of my sequel to Reboot and it follows the events of Friendly Fire. I'd recommend reading/skimming Reboot or some things probably won't make sense (it's not absolutely necessary but it helps—basically Jo goes into the Matrix to shut it down instead of Carter after the failed Astraeus launch). This was intended to be one story covering the events of Jack of All Trades as well, but, of course, this took on a life of its own and I'm separating them into two stories. Neither will be as intense as Reboot, or at least not as intense in the same way. They were, however, a lot of fun to write (and I hope fun to read), especially the JoAT interpretation which is already pretty bonkers in its first draft (and is about 2/3 done, hooray). **

**In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this one which I'll post over the next week or so. And I'll do my best to finish up the next installment as quickly as possible. **

**Chapter 1**

Jo walked into Café Diem and immediately spotted her breakfast partner camping out at a booth. She took a moment to enjoy the view of him sitting there looking so normal. His toned arms were under her favorite leather jacket; that sexy stubble was well past a five o'clock shadow; and there was that unruly black hair that she loved running her fingers through.

Yes, Zane Donovan was a sight to behold at this early hour.

A smile lit her face to see the smoothie waiting for her in a cute Café Diem cozy to keep it cold. Distracted, he had one of his legs propped up and was tapping repeatedly at the tablet in his hands.

What she had just left at S.A.R.A.H. had been anything but normal. Carter had been making a rather unfortunate breakfast for Allison and the kids. Even before she walked downstairs, the smells wafting through her room told her that they were all in for some big disappointment. Normally, she would have strolled downstairs in her robe and made fun of him like he was used to but after her experience in the Eureka simulation, she was feeling very unsettled. There was no way she was facing that crowd without being thoroughly covered from head to toe.

She couldn't help that being around Carter in a domestic setting was weird. It was even more uncomfortable with Allison there, knowing what she had gone through in the Matrix, not that Allison was pressuring her or blaming her for anything. But there had been moments in the last few days where she would see the other woman pause as if reminding herself where she was and that her reality didn't involve losing her family to Jo. Allison didn't seem to have any problem relating to Carter though which was a good thing. He wouldn't understand that kind of distance from her. Jo also figured it was a lot simpler for Allison to separate Carter from his double since she hadn't seen much of the Terminator version of him.

The simulation of Carter continued to haunt Jo, dredging up images of him touching her and flirting with her in order to hurt Zane. She was having a harder time reconciling those images with the man she knew Carter to be in her head. Being alone with him made her nervous and she could tell he had caught on that something was wrong. Neither she nor Allison had the heart to tell him the details of what had gone on in the Matrix. Why traumatize him so soon after their return when there was nothing he could have done about it, nothing he can do now? It was bad enough that a handful of people had seen that version of him and what his life had become with the fake Jo.

Adjustment issues. That was probably the technical term for what she was going through.

Zane lifted his head and spotted her staring at him from afar and thinking big thoughts. There was a knowing wariness in his eyes. He was having some adjustment issues of his own. The concern was only a flash and before she was even sure she glimpsed it, he smiled at her in that new, loving way of his. He smiled at her like a man who knew how to savor what was in front of him. She was quickly becoming addicted to that smile.

The bigger issue was what she was going to do about her failed walkabout. It was absolutely clear in her mind that she didn't want to give up Zane. What she was less sure about was whether that meant giving up her efforts to find her center again. If she had learned anything from the last month it was that Zane was important to her—but that didn't mean that he was everything. She wondered if she could give him what he needed and deserved if she wasn't sure about all the other things left up in the air in her life.

Speaking of things she knew she wanted, there had already been more than enough enjoying him from a distance. Walking over, she slid into the booth and immediately accepted the kiss he had been preparing all morning for her. It was as sweet as she'd hoped.

At the same time, she also tried to ignore the dozens of eyes she felt on them. It was still a little strange to see the two of them in each others' company, yet not trying to kill each other. Before the Astraeus launch, it was a poorly kept secret that they were sleeping together. However, that didn't mean their bickering in public had stopped. Spotting them so openly affectionate was definitely worth a double-take. Jo didn't care what others thought of their relationship and Zane rarely cared what anyone thought about anything so they were content to ignore the stares.

"Morning," Zane whispered after he pulled away from her. He brushed his lips against her ear in passing before sitting back and pushing her drink towards her. "I missed you last night."

She had spent the last few days with him—in his bed, in his shower, on his kitchen counter, across his couch. They'd gotten a little out of control with their official reunion. But she had been up early yesterday supervising the delivery of the Matrix hardware and he had worked late starting the inventory of the same equipment. They wouldn't have been able to spend any waking time together and there legitimately were things she needed to do in her own space. She'd given everyone at S.A.R.A.H. sufficient private family time to warrant an overnight visit.

She took hold of her straw and grinned. "More like you missed me _this morning_. What time did you actually get home?"

He sipped his Vinspresso and sighed. "Late. And I'm still not finished." He looked exhausted and she wondered why he hadn't just slept in and picked up later on in the morning. He had texted her saying he'd meet her for breakfast before they headed to GD so she incorrectly assumed it hadn't been too bad.

Sensing her silent scrutiny, he shook his head in frustration. "I would have left it until this afternoon but Parrish is being a total dick about us storing some of the stuff in his lab. I at least want to finish up that part so I don't have to hear his whining anymore."

"Fargo and I both approved it. End of story. What's his problem?"

"You have to ask?" he scoffed. "What isn't his problem? He's such an asshat."

Jo giggled at his irritated muttering. "Weren't you guys buddies when you worked in the NLWp Lab?"

"Hardly. We tolerated each other and would sometimes unite over our shared hatred of Fargo. Or you—well, the other … you know." He rolled his eyes. "Anyway, no, we are not buddies. I would have thought being trapped with both of us during that Astraeus test would have cleared that up." They both chuckled at the memory. Despite Zane's official role as resident pain in the ass, Parrish had tested all their nerves that day. Zane said afterwards that he wished he had been harder on Parrish given what a prick he was to everyone. But it had been easier to get under the skin of the people who weren't such glaring narcissists, especially hers because he knew how to push all her buttons.

"That stupid Astraeus test doesn't count because we were all going to kill each other then," Jo added. "So you want me to talk to him for you?"

Zane's brief, shocked reaction shifted to one of playfulness. "You'd go down there and throw some muscle around for the ole boyfriend?" His words were followed by a lingering caress to the hand she had resting on his thigh. She raised an eyebrow at him but otherwise said nothing while she continued to sip her smoothie through the straw. Zane's eyes dropped to her mouth, currently engulfing the thin cylinder of plastic as she devoured her breakfast. He licked his lips and swallowed roughly in response. "So hot, JoJo." Whether he meant her mouth or her chivalry was unclear, not that it mattered.

She released her drink to laugh at him. It would usually be the perfect opportunity to make fun but she had to admit that she couldn't get enough of him either.

He squeezed her hand and again reached for his coffee. "Don't worry about it. I can handle Parrish. But," he added, leaning forward to assure her attention, "I wouldn't mind a personal visit a little later on. Say, my place for some dessert."

Jo frowned and then so did Zane, obviously not expecting that response from her. "About that …"

"Oh no. I don't like the sound of this."

Jo winced. She hadn't meant to set that kind of tone. "No, it's not what you're thinking. I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind putting up with me for a little bit. I think I need to move out of S.A.R.A.H. It's getting too weird there, not to mention crowded."

Zane's face scrunched up with confusion reminding her that he was cute even when he was clueless. "You're right, that's not what I was thinking. You're welcome anytime, Jo. You know that."

"I know you said that but I don't think what I'm talking about is what you meant."

"I'll let you know if you wear out your welcome. Although I gotta say, I don't see that happening for a long time judging by how much fun we've been having the past few days." He leaned forward and kissed her soundly. "Now, if that's all you've got for me, I think we should head to work and get this day over with."

Jo didn't think things were as easy as he was making them out to be but if he was okay with her staying with him for a little while, she had other things to worry about today. So she kept her concerns to herself. Zane seemed more relaxed than he'd been in days and Jo didn't want to upset him if she could help it.

She pushed down her anxiety and smiled at him. "Good idea. I'm thinking I have a lot of things planned for you today but it'll have to wait until dessert." Picking up her half-empty smoothie cup, she stood and headed towards the door, Zane right behind her looking particularly smug.

"Now that's what I like to hear from you first thing in the morning, Lupo."

TBC …


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Jo wanted to push the fast-forward button on her day within five minutes of stepping into her office.

She hadn't spent much time there the last few days. She'd been swamped coordinating with the D.O.D. about the Astraeus investigation and overseeing the transfer of the equipment from the Eureka simulation. Also, she wasn't particularly looking forward to getting back to the administrative side of her position. The work had really piled up while she was gone. It was pointless to be mad at Thompson, her deputy security officer, because he'd had his hands full with the Astraeus disaster. There were thousands of emails in her inbox waiting to be addressed and all kinds of reports that she needed to review, from personnel updates to security summaries.

On top of that, she had already spoken to the D.O.D. and Fargo about taking her old job back but she still wasn't ready to make a final decision. After spending a night back at S.A.R.A.H., she was more confused than ever about what to do. She had never thought of herself as indecisive but ever since Zane's proposal in the other timeline, she had second-guessd every major decision to the point of exhaustion. It was concerning.

But it definitely wasn't like her to put things off so the first thing she did after arriving in her office was gather her reports and open up her inbox.

That's when her daily phone call from the D.O.D. came in. Of course, it had to develop into the most frustrating conversation regarding the Astraeus investigation and it took all she had not to completely lose it on her superiors. They wanted her and the others in Eureka to butt out of the hunt for Senator Wen, Beverly Barlow and The Consortium. The very idea that they'd just take a breather after what they'd been through was absurd and not going to happen.

Then the end of that call found her facing the last person she wanted to see this morning. Carter.

But he was a good guy to complain to even if things were a little weird between them at the moment. So she unloaded on him a bit and, as usual, he was a great foil for her bad mood.

Plopping back down at her desk, she turned her back on her computer with its full email inbox. But that still left her with a depressing view of all the reports and files scattered in front of her. "This reminds me why I left in the first place."

"Walkabout didn't do the trick," Carter asked, gauging her mood.

She grinned. "Well, I was kind of interrupted."

"Sorry about that," he responded, grinning right back. They both knew he wasn't sorry at all and neither was she.

Backing out of her chair, she walked across the room to get rid of the non-essential file discs on her desk. "You're off the hook this time. You know I would have been pissed if you hadn't called."

He tracked her movements as she continued to wander around her office, tidying up and putting things away. "Yeah. I try to avoid that side of you."

Facing Carter once again, Jo felt guilty about the recent distance between them. It seemed especially difficult because none of the distance was his fault. He had nothing to do with what happened in the Eureka simulation yet the images of him there were always in the back of her mind. Her walkabout had little to do with him either. He wasn't the first person in her life whose opinion she overvalued. In fact, he was the last in a string of people she respected and spent too much time trying to please rather than focusing on what _she_ wanted. Always the good soldier, she was. She really did value Carter's friendship and wished things weren't so complicated right now. It was important for her not to make things worse but not trying to make things better wasn't helpful either.

One thing she could do right now was at least clear the air about their most immediate issue. Jo braced herself for the conversation they were about to have. Now was as good a time as any.

"Speaking of being off the hook ..." Jo already felt sad about her decision. Carter took her in when she had nowhere else to go. She was looking forward to having a space of her own again but she'd also liked living with him and S.A.R.A.H in the interim. Still, it was the right time to do this so she pushed through her hesitation. "I think it's time I moved out."

Carter seemed shocked by the news and Jo winced a bit at her abrupt delivery of it. "Really? Why? Have we done something to make you think we don't want you there?"

She sighed. "You guys are trying to start a family and, you know, five's a crowd."

"Uh, hello, you're part of our family. When I told you that a month ago, I meant it," he said frowning. "Wait. Is this why you've been acting so weird lately?"

She walked past him to her desk again trying to appear casual. "I haven't been acting weird." Instinctively, she crossed her arms and then dropped them when she realized how defensive she must seem by his accusation.

Carter was skeptical. "No, not at all."

When she sat down, he took the seat across from her but didn't say anything more on the subject. He usually knew when to pick his battles. Instead he returned to the source of his original confusion. "Where are you going to stay anyway? Are you and Zane taking the plunge," he asked, complete with animated hand gesture.

Jo rolled her eyes. "No, we're not 'taking the plunge.' My house is almost ready. _Again_," she emphasized. "I can finally move in there … if I decide to stay." She shrugged and turned her gaze away from his probing expression, trying to appear nonchalant as she took a seat.

"You're still thinking of leaving?" His question held a bit of surprise and a little hurt as well.

She fidgeted in her chair thinking of how to explain things. "GD offered me my job back, but I haven't said yes."

Carter blew out an exasperated breath. "But what about Zane?"

"I know," Jo said, sounding defeated. "I need to go easy on the guy. The Matrix did a number on his head. And if this crazy situation has taught us anything it's that we want to be together. So …"

He let the moment linger before asking the question that had no doubt been on his mind for days. "What went on in there? With him and me, that is? He's pissed at me about something and I know it has something to do with what happened inside the, er, Matrix, uh, simulation thing or whatever."

Jo pursed her lips, frustrated about the situation too but not in any mood to get into with Carter. Actually, their whole conversation was making her uncomfortable.

A shrill sound startled her and she quickly grabbed for her PDA. 'Saved by the bell,' she thought, albeit with a bit of embarrassment at her cowardice. Of course, she had spoken too soon. She should have known Parrish would come bitching to her about Zane at the first possible opportunity. At least it wasn't completely unwelcome as she was eager to put an end to her and Carter's awkward conversation. He sat patiently watching as she dealt with the latest GD emergency.

She was relieved for the convenient escape but that didn't mean she wanted to face the little tyrant alone. "Ugh. This is the last thing I need. It's your buddy Parrish; wanna tag along?"

Carter groaned at the mention of his least favorite scientist's name. "How can I resist?" he responded before reluctantly rising and following Jo out of her office.

When they arrived at the lab, she locked eyes with an exasperated Zane and braced herself for the always unpleasant Parrish heading straight for them.

"Finally! Would you please tell Mr. Donovan that this is a research facility not a storage locker?"

Zane had smiled at her when she walked in but Parrish's obnoxious accusations had him shaking his head. "We're still cataloguing all the equipment we recovered from the neural networking lab. I've got orders signed by the director himself and the chief of security."

"Oh please! The director just lost his girlfriend," Parrish ranted. "He would sign anything you put in front of him even a self-destruct order." The irate scientist turned back to Jo. "And we all know what's going on with you and the chief of security. God knows what you did to get her approval, although I'm sure you made it good for her."

Instead of getting mad, Jo laughed in his face at that. The idea of Zane being able to sweet-talk her into anything work related was a joke. He knew better.

Unfortunately, Zane didn't find it nearly as amusing as Jo did. He tightly clutched his tablet with both hands before stepping right into Parrish's personal space. "You might want to watch your mouth and show both of them some respect." His expression wasn't particularly angry but his icy words would have had most people second-guessing their tone with him. Parrish had no such good sense, undaunted by Zane's rising anger.

"Oh that's rich coming from you." He pointed an accusatory finger at Carter and Jo. "How many times have you had your ass thrown in jail by one of them?"

"Fair enough but the warning still stands. And that's all I'm going to say to you about that. Next time I'll skip the chit-chat and go straight to putting my fist through—"

"Hey, that's enough." Jo said glaring at the both of them. Parrish glared right back and then walked off in a huff, leaving the three of them alone. Zane raised his hands in surrender and Jo smiled at him, secretly impressed by his restraint. Looking for something to distract him from his irritation with Parrish, she glanced over at the equipment overwhelming the room. She spotted a nifty looking gun resting on top of several stacked crates. "Wow, this is cool." She picked it up and inspected it like a mother with a newborn child. "What is it?"

"It's a particle netting gun," Zane explained, a bit of pride in his voice. "I designed that in virtual Eureka. Wen used the blueprints and a 3-D printer, I guess, to make a functional model. You actually slayed a dragon with that," he added sounding impressed. She raised a flirty eyebrow at him in question and he smiled at her excitement.

Then Zane's face clouded over again.

"Well, the other you did." He didn't exactly glower at Carter when he mentioned that but his demeanor was certainly hostile towards the Sheriff. Carter picked up on it right away, noticing her silent admonishment towards Zane as well.

"Aww, come on! What did I do in there? Seriously, what are you guys not telling me?"He scrutinized the two of them for any kind of explanation.

They looked at each other and tensed. "Nothing," they responded in unison. Zane was not thrilled she hadn't yet mentioned the situation to Carter but he wasn't willing to push the matter, at least not yet. It was just another crappy development to add to her winner of a day.

A crash behind Zane distracted them from the awkward moment and Zane ran off after a cart-wielding Parrish.

"Parrish! Where are you going with that?"

"This stuff does not belong here!" He continued to wheel the cart towards the back exit again. Ever the designated juvenile in any given situation, Zane grabbed the other side and started to pull from the opposite direction.

Jo took a deep breath to calm her nerves lest she kill both of them on principle. She put the gun back on top of the storage crates and turned in time to see Carter quickly losing his patience with them. He was about three seconds from putting them both in lockup.

"Hey guys, knock it off!" he shouted.

Jo just didn't understand these eggheads sometimes, Zane included. Global Dynamic was an advanced research facility full of cutting edge and highly unstable experiments that challenge the boundaries of known scientific principles. Yet why they insisted on fooling around in the labs, making moonshine or playing pranks was beyond her? The odds of them causing a major calamity were so high. Speaking of which …

The loud crash followed by a buzzing indicated that calamity had ensued, as predicted.

"Aww, great!" Parrish stomped to the nearest table and grabbed a small device. Whatever had been beneath the glass hovered lazily but instead of looking concerned, Parrish continued to act annoyed.

"Relax! It's just I-Fire. I've got it under control." He hit a few buttons on his device but rather than neutralizing the I-Fire thing or whatever it was, the anomaly started zipping around the lab. Everyone in the room winced and ducked out of the way while Parrish tapped feverishly at his control. The ball continued to move around the room seemingly of it's own individual free will. If anything, it was gaining momentum as it slammed into walls and equipment.

Finally, after a few close calls, it flew out of the open door to parts unknown. Jo cursed under her breath. She added "typical careless Eureka crap" to her mental list of the day's annoyances.

Parrish threw his device down and glared at Zane with pure hatred to which Zane just shrugged. Jo obviously had a great deal of affection for Zane and pretty much detested Parrish. But her bias had no role in siding with her man on this one. Who left anything involving 'fire' in a non-secure glass case at the edge of a table?

Carter put his hands in his pocket and looked around the room before staring at the open door with everyone else. Jo waited for him to voice some appropriately frustrated comment about the unfolding disaster and he didn't disappoint.

"At least some things are back to normal," he offered. Jo's response was to cover her mouth and hold in the string of expletives that threatened to spill out.

TBC …


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

This day could just kiss his ass.

Zane stomped to the car he and Jo were using to transport their high voltage plasma generator for trapping Parrish's Fire-Flies. No, screw him—Fire-BALLS. Of course, Doctor Douchebag couldn't be bothered to clean up his own mess so it was up to the usual suspects to chase down his stupid experiment instead of the millions of other things they had to do. He hadn't even started the proposal for his next project that was due at the end of the week. His body had rebelled against his usual morning run after a month of inactivity. Even with the muscle stimulating beds Beverly had used for the Eureka simulation, his body wasn't ready for any major exercising. And apparently grabbing a quick lunch was too much to ask and he was starving.

On top of that, the simulation equipment sitting in Parrish's lab still needed cataloguing before it could be stored and packed for the D.O.D and there were some things he really wanted to look into before that hardware was shipped out. He'd been pondering Jo's strange story of seeing Holly before exiting the Matrix; his rudimentary investigation had started off as a way to humor her. The more pieces he put together, the more he doubted that his life would ever get back to normal.

Now he was losing hours of time on a wild goose chase. If all went well, this would be just a quick errand but nothing _ever_ went well on the first try in this town. Nevertheless, once they took care of this latest disaster, he could go back to getting this day over with.

Zane felt like throwing the equipment into the trunk in frustration despite how childish an impulse it was. He was tired, grumpy and pissed that Parrish's never ending bitchery had caused yet another complication to his day. Fargo was normally his go-to guy for complaining about Parrish but he was seriously out of it trying to fast track his mourning over Holly. Not that Zane could blame him. The short time he thought he'd lost Jo inside the Matrix had really messed him up. It was a terrible feeling, even now, and he'd gotten Jo back. Fargo didn't have that luxury so if he wanted to check out for a while, that was fine by Zane.

Thinking of Jo had him relaxing into a deep breath. He turned to consider his companion for this little outing. She was silently helping him secure the convertor in the trunk, not quite ignoring him but not engaging him either.

She'd picked up on his bad mood but it seemed she was on a short fuse herself. Being close to her right now, both of them with a funky attitude, was frustrating. Things had been so good between them earlier. He'd missed waking up to her this morning but they'd had a fun, flirty breakfast together and he'd been pretty pleased to learn that he would get her all to himself for a while when she moved out of S.A.R.A.H. But he was also none too pleased that she'd spent the rest of the morning starring in her own buddy comedy with Carter, a partnership he still could not seem to abide in his mind.

His dark thoughts caused him to yank extra hard at the strap securing the convertor. He noticed Jo look in his direction before backing up and heading for the driver's seat.

"Sorry," he called after her.

She was losing patience with his hostilities towards the Sheriff, not that it changed anything for him. Seeing them together had only called on his worst fears about losing her.

On top of all the regular drama, he'd made a pretty disturbing discovery while cataloguing the Matrix components and poking around in the programming. Everyone's behavior, all the simulated characters anyway, weren't speculation or fabrication but behavior based on predictive algorithms. It was science wrapped up in reality; an efficient, portable nightmare machine. This made it really hard to write off the virtual Eureka like he'd tried to do these past few days. If it was fiction, then he could distance himself from it. Accepting that the entire charade was created from documented, plausible behavior patterns had really deflated him.

He hadn't been able to stop obsessing about it, specifically what it meant for him and Jo. And when he thought about Jo, he only wanted to feel the thrill of his attraction, not the paranoia that stupid simulation stirred up.

"All set," Zane said as he climbed into the passenger seat. Jo nodded and started the car, oblivious to how truly anxious he was.

Even when they were in mortal danger over some town catastrophe, he genuinely enjoyed the times he got to work with her. Probably thinking the same thing, Jo smiled at him and pulled out of the parking lot towards one of the testing sites by Lake Archimedes. He tried to return her affection with a shaky grin of his own but inside he continued to brood.

As they drove to the coordinates, not a word passing between them, he watched her and tried not to think that she could slip through his fingers if he wasn't careful.

He wasn't the only one having trouble moving on though. Jo hadn't filled Carter in on the whole 'living together in the virtual Eureka' scenario. Rather than simply telling him the truth, she opted to be really weird around him—that was probably another reason why she wanted to move in with him until her house was ready. Not half an hour ago, she had freaked out when Carter suggested they pair up again to trap the fireballs. For a second, he thought Carter was going to insist on an explanation but instead he offered to call in Henry and then left very quickly. Jo wasn't going to get away with keeping him in the dark for much longer.

It was something else to be pissed about and it pushed his mood even farther south. He couldn't seem to keep his negative thoughts from working a rotation in his mind, increasing his irritability as the minutes passed. Maybe if he knew why she was hesitating he could make sense of it. Otherwise, he was left spinning his wheels and getting more annoyed in the process.

Zane shook his head as they turned into the site. He needed to focus but all he could think was that he was tired of dealing with so much bullshit.

After Jo stopped the car, he slammed his door getting out and pulled open the trunk to retrieve the plasma converter. Jo tried to reach in and help but he waved her off and took it out himself.

Apparently that was her breaking point.

"Seriously, Zane? Enough!" Jo crossed her arms, all exasperation and fiery temper. Ignoring her, he went back to the trunk and retrieved the power source needed to assemble the device.

Pushing her over the edge caused his anger to boil over at last. "Why haven't you told him?" He didn't look up at her, focusing his attention on screwing the converter into its base. There was no doubt she knew what he was talking about so he wasn't about to spell it out for her.

When Jo didn't answer, he stood up to confront her, dreading the worst. When he met her eyes, he didn't try to hide his frustration. Jo's jaw was clenched and the intensity of his accusation made her drop her gaze.

"Why do I have to be the one to tell him? Shouldn't Allison do that?" She didn't sound defensive necessarily. Instead, she sounded, what? Uncomfortable? Scared, if that was possible?

"Maybe he should hear it from Allison. I don't know if you two have discussed it but for whatever reason she hasn't said anything and you're the one being weird with him. We can all see it, you know."

"Thanks for the newsflash," she said bitterly. "I'm not the one jumping down his throat every time I see him. You act like he's the one that stole your girlfriend."

If she wanted a fight, he was in a bad enough mood to give it to her. "Well, he did. Sort of. And this isn't about me."

"No, he didn't! Actually! And it's just as much about you as it is about me. This attitude towards him is starting to get old."

"My attitude?" The last thing he wanted to get into was how her current awkwardness with Carter was somehow his fault. Rather it was much easier to give in to his frustrations by getting angrier. "So that little performance before we left was normal behavior? Why are you so keen on sticking up for your boyfriend?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he realized his mistake. Her glare was no match for Parrish's I-Fire.

"Let's just contain this thing and get out of here." She turned her back to him and worked on calibrating Parrish's remote control. Her straight shoulders and clipped response were colder than he'd seen from her in months.

Zane had crossed a line and he knew it. He kept his distance recognizing that quiet fury she was holding in. He used to love inciting that. But now it disgusted him that he could bring out the cold Enforcer in her. He honestly felt like his day had gone to hell but she was absolutely one of the good things going for him right now; the best thing, in fact. Whatever they were to each other, he was determined not to screw it up like he had for so many other things in his life.

"I'm exhausted. And I'm in no mood to be out here cleaning up Parrish's mess, even if it is with you. So I'm sorry. I didn't mean to …" He didn't even know how to describe the ridiculous argument they were having; the argument he had started. Handling the fallout of post-simulation relationships with his other timeline girlfriend hadn't ever come up before.

Watching for a reaction from her, he could tell that they were both shaken by the conversation. "It's fine," she replied, turning to face him again. "We're both—"

She broke off abruptly and looked around with suspicion.

"What is it?" Zane asked, following her movements.

"Shhh!" Jo circled the converter. Several seconds later, Zane heard the buzz of Parrish's Fire-Fly zoom past their heads, knocking over the equipment.

As he righted the generator, she used the remote control to try and lure the fireball into the converter—and having very little luck.

"It's not working!" She repeatedly attempted to recalibrate the remote but there was no response and the fireball continued to circle around their heads.

In a panic, Zane reached for the control. "Let me try." The irritated look she gave him suggested she would object but she released it to him anyway. He tried several different commands but none of them were having any effect on the fireball. "It's not working!" he stuttered, reentering all of his commands a second and a third time.

"You don't say." He bit his tongue to keep from throwing back a smart-ass remark. He was in enough trouble already. Instead, he gave the remote a couple of hard whacks to see if that got it working.

The fireball stormed at them again, this time diving into Lake Archimedes. The silence in the wake of its submersion was rather creepy. He looked into the water and turned to Jo. "Do you think it's dead?"

Jo took a step towards the water's edge, as confused as he was. A sudden ripple had Zane grabbing her arm to prevent her from going further. They both watched mist rising from the surface of the lake and then the ripples grow larger as a steam cloud formed above the water. Moments later, the fireball shot into the air and disappeared into the distance. Jo instinctively stepped in front of him as a shield to the retreating orb while Zane gripped her torso to pull her into a tight embrace against him.

"Definitely not dead." Jo sighed, leaning into him. "I hate this day." Her posture crumpled in defeat and she reluctantly pulled out her PDA to update the rest of the crew.

Zane loosened his grip and let his hands slide up her arms, offering as much comfort as she'd allow. "No kidding."

TBC …

* * *

A/N: A lot of internal dialogue, I know. It couldn't be helped unfortunately. I thought about incorporating the scene I skipped for some entertaining back and forth with Fargo and Parrish but it seemed gratuitous and redundant to what I had already written elsewhere. I couldn't find a quality way to include it.

Sorry for the delay. Long story short: technical difficulties. But I'm back on course and hopefully I can post regularly as planned. I'm shooting to get another chapter up tonight if all goes well.

As always, thanks for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Jo could feel the headache building.

She and Zane had no success tracking the Fire-Fly after it left the lake so they had no choice but to return to GD and regroup. It further irritated her that Henry and Carter had caught there's with no problem at all. She hated getting shown up like that. Carter had rubbed that in a little too much for her liking and for her mood.

Her day had gone to hell and it was barely half over. In her mind, she'd wanted to get some work done in the morning and then sneak out to S.A.R.A.H. to pack up her things while everyone was out for the afternoon. That way there'd be no awkward explanations or well-meaning appeals. And getting out early meant that she'd have more time to spend with Zane when he finished with his day at GD. Since they'd spent last night apart, she had wanted their evening together to be the highlight of both their days. But after the last half hour, that didn't sound even remotely appealing.

Usually she loved going out in the field with Zane since they worked pretty well together and he always made it fun even if they weren't exactly productive. This time all they had managed to do was argue.

When they'd left GD for Lake Archimedes, she suspected he was a little off. He had been really pissed at Parrish; that was clear but unsurprising. Honestly, she had been too distracted by Fargo's erratic behavior and dodging Carter to focus on what was bothering him. She figured he was just tired and annoyed about how his day had gone.

But he'd been too quiet. One thing that hadn't changed about this version of Zane was that when he was quiet it meant that he was stewing about something. The man loved to banter, with her especially, but anyone would do.

The last thing she expected was for him to throw a bona fide tantrum, the sole purpose of which was to piss her off it seemed.

After spending all morning tied into knots over the situation between her and Carter she didn't need to hear any grief from Zane. Like he was one to talk about acting weird! And what he'd said, referring to Carter as "her boyfriend" was a low blow. She may not be any better than him at adjusting to Carter outside of the Matrix. But at least she was trying and she hadn't taken her frustrations out on him. Besides, her issues with Carter had nothing to do with him and she resented him being so critical of her when he had his own problems he needed to sort out.

To be fair though, he was exhausted—and he had apologized, which was something. Their unspoken agreement was to just let the matter drop. For now. The drive back was filled with icy silence.

After returning to GD, they went straight to Fargo's office where Carter and Henry had gathered to discuss their next move. Unfortunately, Fargo continued to be of no help thanks to his trauma patch. He was currently moping on his couch, waxing poetic about the cruelties of life. But he was so pathetic that she couldn't be mad at the poor guy. He was hurting and she understood what he was going through. She had a brief thought of her interactions with the version of Holly she'd encountered in the Eureka simulation; it had been right around the time the mainframe collapsed and she was ripped from the Matrix. She and Zane hadn't had time to look into it yet. They definitely didn't want to involve others until Zane at least had a chance to inventory the equipment and see what they were working with.

In the meantime, they had a fireball to catch. Jo sighed as she continued to listen to Fargo play out his depression phase.

"I think we make our own fate, Fargo."

Jo admired the way Carter was trying to lift Fargo's spirits but she was more nervous about the rogue fireball on the loose.

"You're adorable," Fargo responded with an equally endearing whimsy. "But wrong. Everything is pre-determined, just like you and Jo?"

Jo's head popped up and turned towards Fargo, eyes wide. Grieving or not, she was going to kill him. First, he spills the beans about the alternate timeline to Zane and now this. He could never keep his mouth shut!

However, Carter only seemed confused by his statement. "Uh, should we maybe get him to the infirmary? He's starting to not make sense—I mean, even more than usual." He looked around the room to see if anyone else agreed.

"I'm making perfect sense, Sheriff, you just clearly don't want to face it." Sighing, he slouched further into the couch. "Life and death, love and heartbreak, you and Jo … it's all written in the stars and there is nothing any of us can do about it but ride the waves of inevitability."

The pain in Jo's head moved from a dull ache to a subtle throbbing. "Fargo!" He nodded at her and Carter while pointing back and forth between them. Jo glanced nervously over at Zane who shrugged in resignation.

Carter picked up on their exchange and the shifting mood. Jo was all of a sudden very antsy and Zane's iciness towards Carter went up a notch … or three. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing," Jo responded.

Zane shot her another look, this time raising an eyebrow at her abysmal lie. She'd said that to him once too in a similar context and he hadn't believed her for a second. He slipped his hands out of his pockets and strolled over to take a seat beside Fargo.

"You and Lupo were doing it in the Matrix."

Glaring at Zane, Jo crossed her arms in frustration. No, she couldn't really sort out how she was feeling at the moment having the situation put out there like that. There was embarrassment for sure and annoyance at the guys for giving it up. But it also scared her. She really didn't know how Carter was going to react. In the space of a few seconds, maybe their friendship would be permanently altered in the worst way and she'd had no control over any of it.

It wasn't even that simple and it was all wrong. Neither she nor Carter had done anything; instead they were being blamed for stuff a bunch of simulated henchman who looked like them had done. Yet Zane and Fargo had made it seem like there was something to be guilty about. She refused to be held responsible for actions that weren't hers. She couldn't stop the rush of anger that triggered.

Just this morning she had thought that Zane was the only thing grounding her but now she wasn't so sure. If he couldn't see past the fabricated version of her he'd dealt with for the past month then they were going to have a serious problem. This turn of events wasn't helping her indecision about whether she would stay in Eureka.

In the meantime, everyone else was waiting for Carter's reaction to the bomb Zane had just dropped in the room. Carter paused and considered each person in the room with him. Their solemn faces were answer enough.

Unless you were the emotionally stunted Carter.

Instead of the incredulity they all expected, he burst out laughing. "Yeah, right," he chuckled. Zane and Fargo simply stared at him with a bit of pity. Jo dropped her arms and planted them on her hips, not knowing whether to be offended or amused at his dense reaction. Henry just stood in the back in complete confusion.

Carter's chuckles died down and then he realized that no one was joining in on the joke with him. "Uh, that was a good one. Right guys? 'Cause it was a funny joke to play on good ole Sheriff Carter who wasn't in the Matrix with you …"

Fargo lifted his head from where it had been resting on Zane's shoulder. "No, you guys were living together in domestic bliss raising Jenna," Fargo offered. "It was kinda messed up." He shook his head before placing it back down against Zane.

Carter swiveled back around to Jo. "Sooo … not a joke?"

Jo shifted from one foot to the other. "Not even close," she replied pulling her sweater around her further as a form of protection. It was done and she wasn't going to panic. Instead she was going to do the next best thing to get out of dealing with it—she'd bury herself in work. "We can talk about that later though. Bigger issues, right?" she offered.

"So now you're using my own catchphrases against me? Nice, Jo!"

Henry picked his jaw up from the floor and interrupted what was becoming a cartoonish situation. "Will somebody explain to me what's going on?"

Jo cut off whatever Carter was about to say. She was an emotional mess but she was also well-trained at compartmentalizing her feelings; it had saved her a thousand times over. Besides, they really did have other things to worry about at the moment.

"Our trap failed, that's what's going on." She proceeded to slide back into crisis mode.

With Henry's help, they were able to pinpoint the new likely destination of the Fire-Fly: Carter's house. Carter flew out of Fargo's office and Jo yelled that she was right behind them. She pulled out her phone and called Andy and also coordinated some back up security teams and medical crews just in case.

When she turned towards the exit, she ran right into Zane, face to chest.

"Oh, no you don't, Lupo. I'm tagging along. Somebody's gotta keep you out of trouble." There was genuine concern in his eyes and there was also a determination that Jo wasn't particularly thrilled to see.

She scowled at him. "Get out of my way, Zane. Why don't you stay here with Fargo and have a good cry. I have work to do." If he could deliver a few low blows today, then so could she.

"Alright I deserved that," he replied still blocking her way. Jo could have simply pushed him aside and left. But something made her stay. Maybe deep down, she didn't want to be mad at him for this. She wasn't going to offer any help though so she stayed silent.

"Technically, Fargo gave it away, not me. I just clarified. And Jo, he needed to be told. I know you understand that."

She did know that and it was the worst part about the whole situation. It didn't mean he had been right to tell Carter like he did. "You realize we're going to have to talk about this later."

He nodded. "And I'm sorry. Again." She raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "I do realize you weren't the ones that were … you know." Neither wanted to hear him verbalize what the alternate versions of Jo and Carter had been doing in the simulation. "I didn't mean it to come out like that, but …" he smirked. "Well, you know my mouth."

Jo finally showed a hint of a smile, her first real one in a while. "Oh yes, I'm quite familiar." He grinned at that. "Usually, I love your mouth. But right now? Not so much." She sighed and stared into Zane's eyes. She saw the apology and worry in his expression along with the exhaustion. "Come on." She was too sick of the whole thing to protest further.

"I knew you wouldn't stay away. We're a great team, Lupo."

Jo rolled her eyes. Of course, there was only so contrite he was going to be. He was insufferable and her irritation at him hadn't exactly dissipated either. "Don't push it Donovan," she said, leaving no doubt that he was still on thin ice with her.

"I would never do that," was his sarcastic reply. Leading him into the elevator, they left to help save the town yet again.

"Fate, I say!" Fargo called from the couch, fist raised in conviction. They both shook their heads as the elevator doors closed.

TBC ...


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Zane was passing the time by mentally counting all of the terrible things that had gone down so far today.

One: he was still, at 2:00 in the afternoon, chasing Parrish's stupid fireball all over town.

Two: he was still, at 2:00 in the afternoon, chasing Parrish's stupid fireball all over town, _without having had lunch_.

Three: he was continuing to stew about his humongous fight with Jo where he'd said a few things that he regretted. She'd been super pissed and rightfully so; but not as pissed as when he and Fargo let it slip about the Carter and Lupo in the Eureka simulation. He didn't feel too bad about that though—at least not the fact that it came out. That revelation was well past due. However, he could admit he should have been more artful about his wording. Unfortunately, they hadn't really cleared the air in the ride over with her on the phone to Andy, Carter and her security team the entire way. A full-scale apology would have to wait.

Four: he was glad the truth had come out but it didn't help that every time he turned around, there was Carter in his face. He was hanging out with his girlfriend or checking in with his girlfriend or playing innocent about his Matrix counterpart sleeping with his girlfriend.

Okay, Jo was right—he _was_ innocent of that last part and it hadn't been his Jo; he wasn't delusional. It was still annoying and today was not going to be the day he let go of his hatred for the man.

But the final straw was watching Jo, the woman he was pretty sure he was in love with, look him square in the eye right before putting herself in mortal danger. At that point, he realized the very worst was probably yet to come.

Sure he'd seen her go off on perilous missions before; acknowledged that she had been doing it long before he met her. However, this time he wasn't confused about his feelings for her or jaded or semi-conscious. This time, he was fully invested in her coming back alive and it made him want to hold on tight, even knowing that it would annoy her and ultimately do no good. She would always run to the rescue without hesitation because it was her nature to do so.

And, truthfully, he loved that about her.

So he stood there on the roof of S.A.R.A.H. watching her try to break open the skylight to get to Jenna and Kevin inside. He held his tongue as she threatened him with bodily harm and withholding of sex if he followed her. He suspected she was disappointed in having to explain that it was her job to run into burning buildings but he wasn't going to apologize for not knowing how to deal with his worry for her. This official 'thing' going on with them was still pretty new to him.

They both turned their heads as Carter hoisted himself up onto the roof to join them. The sheriff had picked up Allison from Andy's care and for some reason was the last to arrive on the scene. Zane rolled his eyes, which had Jo flashing him a warning glare. Carter getting in his face today shot up to number one on his list of annoyances.

If Carter had caught on to his irritation, he ignored it. "Hey, Andy could use your help with the door. I can take it from here," he said to Zane.

It was just like Carter to immediately take over. Jo was going to love that. She had complained a few times about Carter treating her like she was still his deputy. When they'd climbed up, Andy had been confident he could override S.A.R.A.H.'s locking mechanism which was fine with Zane since he much preferred to have Jo's back when she went after the fireball.

The timing couldn't have been more perfect. This was just the type of opportunity he needed to vent his frustrations.

Zane made no move to leave. "Andy seemed to be doing fine three minutes ago when we left him. He knows S.A.R.A.H.'s systems as well as anyone. He'll get it done."

Carter frowned and put his hands on his hips. "I wasn't really asking. This is a police matter now."

"Is that so? Oh, right, you're one of those 'real cops' aren't you? I'm always forgetting that." He heard Jo snort softly at his sarcasm. She was currently trying to pry apart the skylight with a screwdriver produced from who knows where.

The sheriff was not amused, though. "Zane, this isn't a joke. It's dangerous and it's what I do for—" Jo's head popped up to greet his words with a hard stare. "I meant, 'we'" he stuttered, tossing his head towards Jo. "It's what 'we' do for this town." Jo shook her head and went back to her task. Facing Zane again, he continued. "We don't have time to argue; you need to get to a safer spot and help get that door open in case we have problems up here."

"I don't take orders from you."

Carter took a step towards him and not in the friendliest manner. "If this is what the other me had to put up with before Founder's Day, I can see why you spent so much time in my jail cell."

Zane held his ground. "Obviously you don't know anything about me, lawdog." It was true. Carter treated him like they should be buddies or something but they'd never been friendly from his perspective; quite the opposite actually.

"So we're playing the 'other timeline' card to justify you being a jackass right now? Honestly Zane, what is your problem lately?"

He couldn't help becoming even more defensive at getting called out. "The only jackass I see—"

A loud bang and explosion of glass interrupted their argument. They turned towards Jo who was clearing the glass out of the way and preparing to climb the ladder that had just unfolded. She holstered her gun and carefully lowered herself into the hole.

"I hate to interrupt your pissing contest but we've got some kids to save. Zane, get your ass to that door and help Andy. The two of you will get it done faster if you work together. Carter, be ready to grab the kids in case that fireball decides to show up. I'll be downstairs actually getting some shit done." She didn't wait for a response or any agreement, she simply disappeared down into the smarthouse.

Both men stared in shock at the empty spot where she had just stood. Finally, Zane turned to make his way to the door. Yes, they were acting childish in the middle of an emergency situation. But he was still happy to be following Jo's instructions rather than Carter's.

"Fine. You can make yourself useful then." Zane shot the man one last glare and climbed from the rooftop. The sheriff looked pissed at his tone but what did he expect? Carter was in on the joke now and was presumably astute enough to draw the right conclusions about why he wasn't Zane's favorite person at the moment—although you never knew with him.

Zane ran down the stairs to S.A.R.A.H.'s front door and jumped right in to help the robot deputy with the circuit panel. Allison looked beside herself with worry.

"What was that explosion? It sounded like a gunshot?"

Zane paused to calm her with a reassuring smile. "Yes, but it was just Jo getting into the skylight. We're locked out up there too." He didn't mention that it also served to referee the fight he and Carter had brewing. "She's inside now and is going to get the kids to Carter through the skylight if we don't get the door open first."

Other than the skylight breaking, all had been quiet since they arrived. But they suddenly heard a series of thumps and crashes. Apparently, the fireball had decided to come out of hiding.

"How much longer, Zane?" Allison asked at his shoulder, eager to get her kids to safety.

Zane squinted at the display as he knelt by the control panel. He and Andy were both quickly overriding rewiring the circuits locking the door mechanism. Andy remained silent, no doubt worried about how S.A.R.A.H. was doing. "We just need one more minute."

"We don't have that long." Allison sighed, frustrated.

"Like I said, Jo and Carter will get them out the top if this takes much longer." Allison nodded and resumed her fretting. "By the way, he knows. In case you wanted a heads up." It wasn't necessary to further explain to what he referred.

Allison reacted with a bit of shock but he couldn't tell if it was anger or something else given how upset she was in general. "How—"

From above, another loud bang and explosion startled the two of them. Allison immediately called out to her kids and then to Carter while Zane tried reworking the wires more quickly. He didn't want to think the worst about what could be happening, he just wanted to get the damn door open.

They couldn't hear anything inside the house due to S.A.R.A.H's fortifications but they did hear Carter shouting to Jo.

Zane and Andy rechecked each connection one by one. Only a few more and they should be in. Forty-five seconds later, he heard the seal unlock and the door open, but only wide enough to barely squeeze through. It would have to be enough.

Allison was first to the opening, calling for Carter and for Kevin.

Carter? What the hell? He was supposed to be on the roof.

Zane pulled Allison back so she wouldn't go any farther in and his heart stopped seeing the flames that were starting to engulf the entire downstairs area of the house. In the far corner, he caught a glimpse of Carter moving around in the kitchen as well as the kids, but he couldn't see Jo.

Zane turned to Allison, "I see them. They're making their way out."

He caught sight of Kevin and then couldn't see anything through the smoke now billowing out of the crack in the door. Zane assumed the fireball was responsible for all the mayhem but he couldn't see any signs of it through the fire. Where the hell was she?

Many tense seconds later, Kevin squeezed his way through the tight doorway, holding Jenna in his arms. Allison immediately moved them away coddling and checking them over before turning to look for Carter. Andy was holding the door open trying to make sure everyone made it out but he also seemed anxious to run in and check on S.A.R.A.H.

"Where's Jack and Jo?" Allison shouted, now in a panic.

Kevin looked over his mom's shoulder. "Jack had to get to Jo but they were right behind us." Zane frowned and started to push his way through the crack in the door when he saw Carter coming towards him, a still figure hefted over his shoulder.

Jo.

Zane practically grabbed Carter to pull him through the opening, taking Jo from across his shoulder in the process. Now cradling her in his arms he saw that she was thankfully conscious but she also seemed very disoriented.

Relieved, yet still on edge, he looked up at Carter who had a matching frown of concern on his face as well. So many emotions were running through his mind, mostly worst case scenarios about how this could end up. He held Jo close, watching as she brought her hand up to his chest and tried to focus on his face. Her breathing was labored and forced. As he held her, she winced in obvious pain, the source of which he couldn't guess.

A hand appeared on his shoulder and Zane turned to find Carter next to him still tense and in rescue mode. "We need to move away from here," Carter said trying his best to usher everyone up the bunker stairs. He then turned to Andy, offering reassurances that S.A.R.A.H. would be okay.

As soon as they reached fresher air, Zane stopped Carter and looked the older man straight in the eye. Pushing down his anger and bitterness towards the man, he grabbed his arm as best he could while carrying a rousing Jo.

"Thank you."

Carter simply nodded and guided him to the waiting medics before leaving them to check on Allison and the kids.

* * *

Forty minutes later, the fire crews gave the all clear to Andy and Carter while Jo was busy trying to get the EMTs off her back.

"I'm fine," she yelled for the tenth time as Zane looked on, arms crossed.

"Could you simmer down and let them do their jobs. The sooner you stop bitching and get it over with, the sooner you can get back to kicking ass. Carter and Kevin said you were down for the count for a while there. I don't know why you didn't let Carter go in first." The last part he muttered under his breath but she still heard him and frowned. The EMTs were grateful that they weren't the ones on the receiving end of her temper at the moment.

Yet again, Zane realized a little too late that he had stepped into dangerous territory. He really needed to get some sleep because he was getting way too sloppy.

"So you think Carter can do my job better than me now?" Her voice was even icier with him if that were possible. "There's nothing wrong with my memory so I vividly recall leaving you two on the roof arguing like a couple of children. You're inexplicably still pissed at him but now Carter's your go-to guy?"

He was getting used to this from her and he wasn't going to let her ego get the better of him. "You know I don't think that. Any of it." He sighed, trying to figure out how to best explain himself. "I'm sure that sweater is comfortable, even though it's cutting off my view of how good your ass looks in those jeans." She rolled her eyes which he ignored. "But it's not the same as Carter's protective uniform and you know it." He leaned forward to emphasize his point. "That thing could have killed you, Jo."

Her expression softened at his worry and sincerity but she refused to back off her escape plans. "I appreciate that but you also know that I'm not one for dramatics. If I say I'm okay, then I'm okay. Or at least okay enough to do my job." She returned her glare back to the EMT. "Right?"

The woman sighed and removed the oxygen clamp from Jo's nose. "Go," she replied, eager to get the woman out of her hair. "But Dr. Blake is going to want a full exam as soon as you get things under control. Don't make me tattle on you."

Jo smiled and jumped off the back of the vehicle. "Thanks, Ellie." Turning to Zane, she scowled and stepped towards the entrance to S.A.R.A.H. where a few members of her security team stood ready to brief her. "Speaking of getting back to work, you need to head over to GD and try to figure this thing out with Henry and Parrish. Who knows what state Fargo's in and we have to neutralize this stupid fireball quickly."

Zane watched her go, satisfied that she seemed steady enough on her feet. The EMT—Ellie, according to Jo—was chuckling at him as she put away her equipment.

"What?" He had only seen the woman in passing so he didn't know her well but Jo seemed to have some sort of friendship with her.

"Nothing," she responded. "It's just that you dodged a bullet there. You've got a long way to go with her."

"Ugh, don't I know it," Zane replied. He ran his fingers through his hair, thankful that they were no longer trembling with fear as they had been when the paramedics were treating Jo.

She continued to smile at him knowingly when she closed the doors to the ambulance and followed her colleague to the front. "You're getting there though," she threw at him over her shoulder before getting into the passenger seat.

Zane smiled but shook his head as he walked over to Allison to hitch a ride back to GD.

TBC …

* * *

_AN: I'd like to offer a very big thank you to everyone who has been reading this and keeping up with my sluggish posting schedule, especially those of you who have been kind enough to leave a review. It's a huge highlight for me that I don't take for granted. _

_As I mentioned before, this segment of the story was meant to be a lot shorter and integrated into the next series of antics. But I felt like it was cheating a bit to gloss over these events and decided to flesh it out. This installment of the story has got one chapter left and then it's on to the next phase for the gang._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Jo sat at the counter of Café Diem having a post-catastrophe cup of tea—after she threw back her usual shot of ouzo, of course. She'd made it a double.

Right now, she was overwhelmed with exhaustion and still in shock at the latest Matrix fallout for her and the Astraeus' crew. That experience had been a nightmare in and of itself but they were all trying to put it past them and move on. How was that possible now with this new development literally hanging over their heads? When the fireball had gone berserk on her after she and Andy reentered S.A.R.A.H., she realized she was somehow setting it off. That hadn't made it easier to hear Grace and Allison confirm it. They would figure this thing out with the zeta waves but it was still pretty creepy to think that the program had fundamentally changed how her brain worked, to what end remaining unknown.

It made her wonder about her visions of Holly Marten as well. Could it be related somehow?

This new situation was a crappy addendum to an already terrible day. It had been one thing after another since she'd walked into GD this morning. Following her ass-kicking by that stupid fireball at S.A.R.A.H., she hadn't even been able to digest the long-term ramifications of the zeta waves mystery before realizing the impending danger to the Astraeus crew gathering at Café Diem. The ensuing attack at the Café had been stressful but the fairly uneventful recapture with Zane's particle netting gun seemed almost anti-climactic by Eureka standards.

Stirring her tea, Jo glanced at her watch wondering how much longer Zane would be. She hadn't been sure where things stood with them after having so many disagreements over the course of the day. But he had texted her an hour ago to meet him for dinner before heading back to his place. Vincent had already been over twice to tempt her with a slice of his delicious pizza straight out of the oven. She had declined but made a mental note to remind Zane. He loved Vincent's pizza, said it reminded him of home.

"Hey."

Jo jumped and immediately tensed at the sudden voice next to her. She had been so lost in her thoughts she hadn't seen Allison approach the counter to catch Vincent before he disappeared back into the kitchen. "How about some green tea please, Vincent." He nodded and left to fill her order.

"Hey," Jo responded. "How are Jenna and Kevin doing?" She assumed she would have heard if they'd been hurt but you never know. According to the reports, S.A.R.A.H. was the only who was majorly injured. It was going to take some time to get her back online but Fargo had made that a top priority.

Allison chuckled. "They're doing a lot better than either of us. They're still at an age where they think it's really cool when stuff like that happens. And, of course, Kevin is a terrible influence on Jenna."

Jo smiled at that. "I bet." They both turned as the door opened and Carter came in followed by the aforementioned Kevin and Jenna. He smiled brightly at Allison but when he saw Jo sitting next to her, an expression of fear flashed across his face and he made an immediate beeline for the back of the café.

"Zane told me the cat's out of the bag." Allison's tone seemed neutral so Jo didn't know what to make of her observation.

Jo swirled her tea a little and straightened. "You've got Fargo and Zane to thank for that."

Allison sighed and put a hand on her arm. "We couldn't have hidden it from him forever. We needed to tell him sooner or later. I should have told him myself but I liked not having to think about it. And how do you bring up something like that in casual conversation?"

Jo grinned. "I think I say that about something that happens around here on a weekly basis."

Allison laughed and squeezed Jo's arm before dropping her hand back to the counter. "Don't worry. I'll talk to him about it. He'll be weird for a while but it'll pass. For you too. If I can get over it having lived through it for a month, he's got no choice but to not make a big deal out of it."

"That's true." Jo took a sip of her tea and turned towards her friend. "Actually, it's Zane who I'm more worried about getting over it. He's still got so much anger even though we're back and he knows this Carter had nothing to do with what happened in the Matrix. We got into it today about it. It's probably why he just blurted it out about the whole thing."

Allison gave her a look of sympathy. "I'm sorry. He won't admit it but he's just scared. I saw the look on his face when he thought he'd lost you. He needs you."

Jo's shoulders slumped. "I need him too. And it's terrifying."

"Yeah, that sounds pretty familiar." Allison grinned at her friend, thinking about all the barriers she'd had to break down to be with the men she loved.

"It's just with the whole walk-about situation left unresolved, I just don't know what I'm supposed to be doing; if there's something out there I'm supposed to be discovering about myself. We talked about this before I left. You know what I mean."

"I do," she replied. "I went through something similar when I had Kevin so soon after losing his father. I moved to D.C. to get away from all the memories and craziness of Eureka and I ended up meeting Nathan." She glanced over to the back of the room where Carter and Kevin were fighting over what toppings to put on their pizza while Jenna giggled next to them. "For better or worse, it led me to this point and what I have right now with my family." Jo had no doubt she included Carter in that equation even if they weren't married or even officially living together at the moment.

"I'm pretty sure I want to be with Zane. He's all I've thought about the last month. But how can I ask him to be with me when I'm so unsure of everything else? And fighting with him today just brought up more doubts. After everything we've been through it would be too depressing if it didn't work out."

"More depressing than not trying at all?"

Jo paused and swirled her tea again. "I just want to be sure I'm doing things on my terms."

Allison squeezed her hand. "Are we ever really sure of that?" She let the question linger between them for a moment. "All I know is that you ran into a burning building and saved my kids, Jo; you helped save all of us today, just like you've done hundreds of times before. You risked your life to get us out of that computer simulation. My kids love you, our friends too. And even the people that don't love you respect you for keeping us safe. That was true even before Founders' Day. Last week I felt so much resentment towards you, hated you even, and now I can't imagine going one day without seeing you." She chuckled to herself. "Although given how tight the quarters have been at S.A.R.A.H., I imagine you don't mind going a few days without seeing us."

Jo smiled at that and got a little teary too. She realized how close she'd come to losing her friend. Allison and Zoe were the closest thing she had to the sisters she'd wished for growing up.

At that moment, the man they'd just been discussing came walking into the Café. With a quick glance at the two of them, he strolled away to chat with one of the other scientists from his lab.

"Talk to him, Jo. And think about how truly important you are to us here in Eureka. I realize you have a lot to think about but my selfish vote is 'don't go.'"

Allison rose from her seat as Vincent walked over with her tea. Jo saw her grace Zane with an enigmatic smile during her retreat, which served to unnerve him. Jo chuckled a little at that. They both knew how scary Allison could be when she wanted.

"What's going on?" Zane asked pointing to Allison. "Should I be worried?"

"I don't know, have you done anything that should concern her? Or me?"

Zane appeared to think about it but was interrupted by Vincent asking if he'd like anything.

"I'm thinking ice cream?"

Vincent didn't look amused. "Very funny."

Laughing, Zane took a seat next to Jo. "Eh, surprise me."

Jo nudged him with her elbow. "Vincent's making pizza by the way."

Zane turned back to Vincent who had almost disappeared into the kitchen. "Actually, how about you surprise me with some pizza." Vincent just nodded and grinned before disappearing behind the door. Zane put his hand on her thigh and stroked her leg gently. "I'm going to risk your wraith and ask how you're feeling? I take it you got a clean bill of health from the good doctor over there?"

"Yes, she just told me to take it easy for the next couple of days."

"That doesn't sound like much fun," he said, squeezing her thigh once before letting go. "Although after this afternoon, I'm having second thoughts about letting you stay with me. I can't help but notice that all of your houses keep burning down," he added with a chuckle.

She smacked him on the arm but he caught her hand in his before she could hit him again. "And whose fault is that, Mister?"

"Hey, I'm only responsible for the one time. That's only one-third culpability."

Jo was not impressed with his explanation. "Zane, I saw you knock over that I-Fire thing in Parrish's lab. That's two-thirds culpability." She smiled wickedly at him as an idea dawned on her. "For all I know, you've been trying to get me to move in since the first time my house burned down."

He kissed her palm and winked at her before letting their hands fall to his lap. "Could be."

She stroked her thumb across his fingers as she leaned in closer to him. "But if you're really concerned about the well-being of your apartment, I could always go bunk with Deputy Andy. After all, I've had to wake up to him in my living room on many an occasion these past few months."

Judging by Zane's frown, he was not a fan of that idea. "I don't think so, Babe. I remember his little infatuation with you before he got together with S.A.R.A.H. I know they've got a good thing going and that he's really worried about her right now but there's no way I'm letting you into his clutches." Jo laughed and cuddled against him once more. It felt good after there being so much tension between them for most of the day.

They sat in silence for a moment not knowing what to say given how they'd left things a few hours ago. Finally, he asked, "Can we talk? About earlier?"

Jo hadn't been expecting him to cut right to the chase like that. She was still reeling from her conversation with Allison and could have used some more time to get her thoughts together. Trust Zane to cut off all of her escape routes without even knowing it.

"Uh, yeah. I wanted to talk too."

"Look, I really am sorry about earlier. I'm sorry about all of it, picking that fight and saying what I said. But I'm not sorry that Carter knows about the Matrix."

Jo was happy to hear his apology but she wasn't really mad anymore. She didn't have the energy. "I know you're sorry. And I know you were tired and cranky. And hungry." That observation got her a small grin.

"Thank you," he replied. "I just want you to know that if I've been a jerk, it's because …"

"Hey, if this is about the thing with Carter, don't apologize to me, apologize to him," she said pointing to the sheriff sitting in the back.

Zane followed her gesture in time to catch Carter waving at them happily. Jo had to suppress a smile at that. She didn't think Zane would take her laughter too well.

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen," he said scowling.

"You know this whole jealousy thing?" He tried to interrupt but she cut him off. "Don't even bother to deny it! It is very cute though."

Zane glared at her but it turned into a smirk when he saw she wasn't going to back down. "Alright, I'm jealous. What do you want from me?" In another situation, she'd think he was still joking. But she could sense the genuine curiosity of his question.

They hadn't really talked about the next steps for them in the time since they'd returned with the Astraeus crew. They'd just been enjoying each other. And she'd also been so focused on trying to sort herself out and unravel all the bizarre consequences from her trip into the Matrix. Allison was right though. She couldn't make any decisions about her future without talking things over with Zane.

She might as well start off on a high note. "I want to be with you." She warmed at the smile that elicited. "While I was gone, I thought about you all the time. But since everything that's happened, I've been going back and forth about so many other things in my life right now."

"Well, we've been pretty happy together since we got back. How does that factor into all this? Are you still thinking of leaving Eureka?" His question, so cautiously asked, was the crux of everything she needed to decide in the next 48 hours.

"Are _you_?" She didn't mean to be accusatory and it wouldn't change how she felt about him but she was genuinely curious.

Zane had the decency to look a little sheepish over her response. "I was never going to leave, I think you know that now. I hope you do at least. That was just me being a jackass although I really am thankful to you for helping me get my pardon. I didn't know how to say it at the time, but I wanted to think that you would miss me." His tone was quiet and genuine.

"I would have," was Jo's honest reply.

He took her hand in his briefly and squeezed it. "I like that it was so hard for us to say goodbye."

Jo rolled her eyes. "I don't remember it being that difficult. In fact, it was so easy that we just kept on saying it."

Zane thought about it a moment and nodded in agreement. "That's true. Once we got the hang of it, we couldn't seem to stop saying it," he murmured in her ear, voice sultry and seductive at the memory. "In your cell and in my lab and on your desk ..."

The slight blush to her cheeks didn't go unnoticed. "Okay, okay I get it!" She turned her face away to calm herself from those steamy memories.

"The point is, I'll settle on taking a vacation or something but I'm not going anywhere. This is too sweet a gig to give up. And except for Parrish, the company's not half bad either," he added with a saucy grin.

That brought Jo back to the heavy discussion they were having. She sighed and felt bad as she watched his smile fade.

"I feel like there's still so much I need to figure out about myself; that it's not fair to make you wait for me to do that. But I don't regret what I feel for you; I never have. I just doubt that I can be good for you when I have so many questions about who I am."

They sat quietly, both thinking how to move forward from this point.

"Maybe I just," she began and then sighed again. "Maybe I need a little bit more time."

"Well, too bad," he responded immediately.

"What?"

"Too. Bad." He turned his chair so that he was facing her, stern expression on his face and a tension in his posture. "We need to figure this out together. All this back and forth, it's killing me. And I realize, it's not just you. I haven't been the greatest at communicating either about this stuff. I should have talked to you after you pulled out of the Astraeus mission instead of throwing a tantrum. I didn't think." He looked away remembering all the fighting and harsh words they'd exchanged in those weeks before the launch.

"You were hurt and disappointed and I understand that," Jo said stroking his cheek so he would look at her. "I should have told you about my decision right away. I didn't want you to find out about it like you did. I meant it when I said that my decision wasn't about you. But you believed in me when I didn't believe in myself and you deserved an explanation."

Zane nodded. Closing his eyes, he leaned his forehead against hers and took hold of the hand still caressing his cheek.

He whispered, "I feel the same now though, JoJo. I know you need to do what you've got to do. But I still just want you with me." He kissed her gently and pulled away. "I won't stop you from leaving or stop being there for you if you've got to figure things out away from here. I just don't want you to give up on us."

Jo melted at that. A tear slipped from the corner of her eye and Zane quickly wiped it away before it could slide down her cheek.

She looked towards Allison and replayed her friend's words back in her mind. She thought about Fargo, alone in his office mourning Holly, and Grace and Henry struggling with what had happened in the Matrix. She thought of her brothers all so far away, serving their country the best way they could like she was. She thought about how empty it felt those weeks on the road and the comfort of stepping foot in Eureka again, right into the craziness and disaster the town was so known for.

Looking up into the eyes of the man across from her, she thought of everything she'd lost with him … and all that she'd gained finding her way back. There was no way she was letting him go.

And there it was. Right here all around her were some damn good reasons why she shouldn't give up this life. It might not be perfect and it was definitely frustrating at times but Jo was starting to consider that if she couldn't find her answers surrounded by the things that meant home to her, well, then those answers just didn't exist.

It was her turn to nod in approval. "I won't give up, I promise."

She kissed him with an eagerness that drowned out everything around them. There were no second thoughts about her walk-about or worries about how to deal with Carter. Jo had even removed her conversation with Allison from the forefront of her thoughts. There was only Zane and his words that she would have never expected from him six weeks ago. There was the feel of his lips against hers, their fingers intertwining and knees brushing against each other as they moved closer together.

"Ahem…"

The two broke apart as Vincent stood in front of them, pizza in one hand, cold drink in the other and a smile threatening to leap off his face. They both had the decency to look a little embarrassed for sharing such an intimate moment in front of everyone. Vincent shook his head and placed the items in front of them. "Enjoy."

Zane turned away to take a drag of the drink Vincent had surprised him with and Jo snuck a glance towards the back of the room where Allison, Carter and the kids were enjoying their meal. Both Allison and Carter smiled at her, although Carter's face held a slight blush. They both raised their respective drinks—his a beer glass, hers a mug of tea—to toast the happy couple.

Catching movement to her right, she saw Zane likewise raise his glass in return. Now they were getting somewhere.

The End

* * *

_**Author's Note: So that's that. I had my usual difficulties splitting this up so, unfortunately, I was left with a supersized chapter. The next installment is coming up soon—you're in for some serious craziness if you decide to keep going with this series. Thanks again for reading and following and reviewing this story. It's a great motivator to have such encouragement and I appreciate it immensely. **_


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